Collapsible umbrella frame



A ril 22, 1969 H. WEBER 3,439,690

COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA FRAME Tiled Sept. 29, 1966 Sheet Fig.1

' April 22, 1969 WEBER 3,439,690

COLLAPSIBLE UMBRELLA FRAME Filed Sept. 29, 1966 I Sheet 3 of 2 United States Patent tion of Germany Filed Sept. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 582,928 Claims priority, application Germany, Oct. 2, 1965,

1m. (:1. Aisb 19/06 11.5. Cl. 135-26 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Collapsible umbrella has three-portion roof-supporting l'ibs of which the inner and center portions are telescoping and the outer portion hinged to the center portion, flexible roofing material located on the outside of the ribs and forming a generally mushroom-shaped fold between the crown of the umbrella and a location at which it is secured to the inner end of the center rib portions. The outer rib portion in the collapsed condition of the roofsupporting ribs lies adjacent the telescoped inner and center rib portions and is of such length that its free end extends at most up to the generally mushroom-shaped fold.

My invention relates to collapsible umbrella frame, and more particularly, to an umbrella frame of the type that is shortened in length.

The sticks and roof-supporting ribs of collapsible umbrella frames are each formed for the most part of two members, so that the umbrella can be shortened to approximately half of its length when in normal use. However, numerous proposals have been made seeking a further shortening of umbrellas and, for this purpose, the stick and the roof-supporting ribs have been divided respectively, into more than two parts. In most cases, the roof-supporting ribs have been divided into three parts.

The invention of the instant application is accordingly an improvement over the known umbrellas which seek to shorten the length of the umbrella, when the umbrella is collapsed, by dividing each of the roof-supporting ribs into three rib portions.

Umbrellas which can be shortened so that they are able to be carried in a womans handbag for example, and are constructed-with the three-piece roof-supporting ribs as aforementioned, have not been heretofore successfully produced in actual practice, for various reasons. If they are to be constructed so that they can be handled in the same simple manner as for a collapsible umbrella which can fit into a ladys handbag and provided with roof-supporting ribs that are divided into two parts only, they then require a complex linkage system which can be produced only at high manufacturing costs and calls for great accuracy. Moreover, the weight of the umbrella as well as the diameter of the shortened umbrella is greatly increased so that any advantage derived from further shortening of the umbrella is practically annuled thereby.

These disadvantages can be and have been partly avoided by providing an umbrella which handles somewhat less simply. This applies to a known umbrella frame with a telescoping stick and roof-supporting ribs which are respectively made up of three portions, the center portion of which telescopes into the part closest to the middle of the umbrella, and the outer portion of which telescopes into the center portion. The main struts at the inner end of the center portion are linked respectively to a roof-supporting rib. With this type of umbrella it is, however, necessary in both conditions of use, that is when the frame is extended and the roof is either closed ice (collapsed) or opened (extended), that the outer roofsupporting rib portions have to be individually bolted against displacement relative to the central roof-supporting rib portions, which renders the construction too complicated again and makes the umbrella difficult to handle.

Such bolting of the outer roof-supporting rib portions is superfluous when the outer roof-supporting rib portions are not displaceable relative to the central roof-supporting rib portions, but rather are mounted so that they are pivotable toward the outside, or in other more specific words, each of the outer roof-supporting rib portions is articulatingly connected with the adjacent central roofsupporting rib portion of the respective roof-supporting ribs, the pivot axis of the articulating joint being perpendicular to a plane in which the roof-supporting rib and the axis of the umbrella stick are located, and when furthermore a detent or stop is provided limiting the radial pivotal movement toward the stick axis of the outer roofsupporting rib portion about the pivot axis, in the extended condition of the umbrella.

An umbrella constructed in this manner is easily serviceable and turns out to be simple to construct but, however, has the disadvantage that the closed and shortened umbrella is uindesirably thick because of the many superimposed layers of material.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a collapsible umbrella which can be shortened that avoids the aforementioned disadvantages of the known umbrellas of this type and which more particularly will not be undesirably thick when in the collapsed and shortened condition. 7

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I provide in accordance with my invention a collapsible umbrella wherein the outer roof-supporting rib portion of a threeportion rib is of such length in the shortened condition of the umbrella that the free end of this outer rib portion extends at most up to the mushroom-shaped folds forming the covering of material between the umbrella crown and a point of attachment therefor at the inner end of the outer roof-supporting rib portion. The number of superimposed rows of material is thereby reduced to three.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in collapsible umbrella frame, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalence of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of a specific embodiment and the modification thereof When read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view of an umbrella constructed in accordance with my invention in the shortened condition thereof when the roof is closed or collapsed;

FIG. 2 is another view of the umbrella of FIG. 1 in an intermediate condition thereof when the roof is being opened (extended) or closed (collapsed);

FIG. 3 is a third condition of the umbrella of FIGS. 1 and 2 in which its length is shortened;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of FIG. 3 showing in addition a portion of the roof-covering material;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section through a portion of a roof-supporting rib in the vicinity of the connecting rib portion of the respective main brace;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of a portion of a roofsupporting rib in the vicinity of the location wherein the outer roof-supporting rib portion is articulatingly connected with the central roof-supporting rib portion;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII in FIG. 7 in the direction of the arrow; and

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a variation of the articulating joint.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3 thereof, there is shown an umbrella formed of a telescoping stick having three aligned portions 3, 4 and 5 provided with a handle 1 and an umbrella crown 2 at opposite ends thereof. The three stick portions 3, 4 and 5 are secured to one another by non-illustrated detents and stops in the extended condition thereof shown in FIG. 1. By loosening the detents, which act either in a forcelocking or form-locking manner, the telescoping portions 3, 4 and 5 can he slid into one another and if necessary secured by additional detent means against being pulled out from one another.

Roof-supporting ribs divided into three portions 7, 8 and 17 are pivotally connected at hinges 6 located at the umbrella crown 2. The inner portion 7 and the midle or central portion 8 of each of the roof-supporting ribs are telescopingly able to be slid one within the other in the same manner as the two individual roof-supporting rib portions of the known collapsible umbrella that is formed of two parts as mentioned hereinbefore. For this purpose, the roof-supporting rib portion 7 is hollow whereas the roof-supporting rib portion 8 can be solidly formed. The inner end 9 of the middle roof-supporting portion 8' is bent, as shown in FIG. 5, and is connected by means of a pin 10 with a sleeve 11 which is displaceable on the roof-supporting rib portion 7 and designated as the stirrup to which the covering material of the roof is sewed. This sleeve 11 limits the displacement of the roofsupporting rib portion 8 toward the outside by the fact that it abuts against a bushing 11a which is secured at the outer free end of the roof-supporting rib portion 7. The pin 10 simultaneously forms the means for articulatingly joining the inner end of the central roof-supporting rib portion 8 to a main strut 12, so that the pin it acts as a pivot pin. All of the main struts 12 are articulatingly connected to a main runner 13 which is capable of being bolted to the umbrella stick at two locations by means of a latch or catch, namely at a location near the crown 2 when the umbrella is opened and at a location near the handle 1 when the umbrella is closed. An additional runner, the auxiliary runner 15, is displaceably mounted on the stick intermediate the crown 2 and the main runner 13. The auxiliary runner 15 which is situated against the bottom of the crown 2 when the umbrella is open, serves for supporting the roof frame and for this purpose is connected with the main struts 12 by means of auxiliary struts 16.

Disregarding the division of the stick into three parts, the umbrella described up to this point, if one were to ignore the outer roof-supporting rib portion 17, corre sponds in construction to the known umbrellas formed of two parts as hereinbefore mentioned and capable of being placed in a ladys handbag.

The outer roof-supporting rib portions '17 are connected by hinged joints with the central roof-supporting portions 8, the hinged joints being indicated generally in the drawing by the reference numeral 18, and the construction thereof being more clearly shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

Each joint 18 consists of a stirrup-like sleeve 19 of sheet metal only partly closed at its periphery and provided with cheeks 20 through which the hinge pins 21 extend, radially offset somewhat with respect to the middle of the roof-supporting ribs. The bent or crank-shaped end 22 of the outer roof-supporting rib portion 17 is pivotable on the pin 21, but is, however, limited in its pivoting movement by the stop or detent at the center portion of the bushing or sleeve 19, i.e. at the location 23 in FIG. 7. The sleeve 19 is secured to the outer end of the central roof-supporting rib portion 8 by means of a bushing 24 surrounding the central portion. The joint pin 21 extends perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 2, that is, to a plane in which the axis of the umbrella stick and the adjoining cover-supporting ribs 7, 8, 17 are located. This joint permits the outer roof-supporting rib portions 17 only to perform an outwardly directed pivoting motion of nearly in the plane of FIG. 2.

The sleeve 19 simultaneously forms the means for plac ing the outer roof-supporting rib portion 17 in the extended condition of the umbrella as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by means of force-locking. For this purpose the checks 20 are provided with small constrictions 25 visible in FIG. 8, whose inner clearance is somewhat less than the outer diameter of the roof-supporting rib 17, so that the cheeks 20 of the sleeve 19 must be slightly pressed apart resiliently before the portion 17 can freely pivot outwardly. Naturally the stopping means can also have a different construction. For example, the same purpose can be served in principle by providing a small depression at the side of the roof-supporting rib portion 17 for receiving a raised dimple extending from the inner surface of the sleeve 19 when a dent or depression is pressed into the outer surface of the sheet metal of the sleeve 19. The material covering 26 is shown in cross section in FIG. 4. It is gripped at the location 28 of the umbrella crown 2 by means of a nut 27 threaded onto the free end of the umbrella stick and is sewn by means of several stitches 29 to the stirrups or bows 11 and by several stitches 31 to the points v30* at the free ends of the roof-supporting rib portions 17. Such construction corresponds to the general construction known in the art. Moreover, the covering 26 is connected by means of additional stitches 32 with the sleeve 19.

The umbrella constructed in accordance with my invention is opened and closed in the conventional manner with the outwardly swinging roof-supporting rib portions 17. If it is to be collapsed and shortened in length, the roof-supporting rib portions 17 are first pivoted in anoutward direction by overcoming the resistance of the constriction stop 25, and toward or against the roof-supporting rib portion 8 so that it assumes the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is unnecessary to pivot each roofsupporting rib portion 17 individually. On the contrary, it is sufiicient to overcome the stopping action of the constriction 25 by pressing the roof-supporting rib portion 8 with one encircling hand forcefully against the umbrella stick and to simultaneously grasp the handle 1 with the other hand so that the roof-supporting rib portion 17 is provided with an abutment at this hand. If the roof-supporting ribs are held at rest or by the aforementioned detent, they can consequently be pivoted with one hand to the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The umbrella is then able to be completely shortened in the same manner as for a two-part telescoping umbrella by simultane- Qusly sliding together the umbrella stick portions 3, 4 and 5 and the roof-supporting rib portions 7 and 8.

In order to return the umbrella to the conditions such as are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foregoing process is reversed, wherein the umbrella frame is first pulled apart and the roof supporting rib portion 17 is clapped against the handle 1 as shown, for example, in FIG. 1, which can be effected again with only one hand without requiring much skill. If the roof-supporting ribs are fully extended, the umbrella can then be opened. It must be noted that the sequence of steps being described need not be absolutely adhered to. It is equally possible, when shortening the umbrella, to slide the telescoping portions together first and thereafter to pivot the roof-supporting rib portions 17 outwardly and toward the umbrella crown, and the same change of sequence is possible when the umbrella is to be converted to its normal operating condition again.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the roof-supporting rib portion 17 s somewhat shorter than the roof-supporting rib portions 7 and 8 so that when the umbrella is shortened, the roofsupporting rib portion 17 does not extend with its free end formed by the point 30 beyond and over the mushroomshaped fold 33 of the umbrella covering. In this manner, I succeed in producing a shortened umbrella wherein more than three layers of covering material are not superimposed at any location and I therewith avoid the defect peculiar to the other pocket-type umbrellas which are divided into three parts, which is that the heretofore known umbrellas of this type are excessively thick due to the many folds of the cover material in the shortened condition thereof. Theoretically, the length of the roof-supporting rib portion 17 is half of the length of the roofsupporting rib portion 7 or 8. From a practical stand point, however, based upon consideration of all the factors which are significant in determining the dimensions of the rib portions, it has been found, however, that the roof-supporting rib portion 17 would more suitablyhave a length which is approximately two-thirds of the length of the roof-supporting rib portion 7.

The joint 19 shown in FIG. 9 differs from the joint 19 in FIG. 6 by the fact that holes 34 are provided for receiving the stitches necessary for securing the umbrella covering material to the joint. The holes 34 are similar to the holes 35 (FIG. formed in the stirrups or bows 11 generally for the same purpose.

I claim:

1. Collapsible umbrella comprising a stick formed of three portions adapted to be telescoped within one another in telescoped condition of the umbrella and to be extended in alignment with one another in detelscoped condition of the umbrella, a system of roof-supporting ribs formed of three portions including an inner rib portion pivotally linked to the normally upper end of said stick, a center rib portion telescoping said inner rib portion, and an outer rib portion, hinge means for pivotally connecting said outer rib portion to said center rib portion, the axis of said hinge means being perpendicular to a plane in which the respective roof-supporting rib and the axis of the stick are located, a main runner mounted on said stick for displacement along the axis thereof, a plurality of main struts each pivotally linked with said main runner and with one of said roof-supporting ribs, an auxiliary runner displaceably mounted on said stick between said main runner and said normally upper end of said stick, a plurality of auxiliary strut search pivotally linked with said auxiliary runner and with one of said main struts, stop means for limiting the radial pivoting motion of the outer cover-supporting rib portion about said hinge axis in a direction toward said stick in the detelescoped condition of the umbrella, an umbrella crown located at said normally upper end of said stick, flexible roofing material located on the outside of said ribs, said material being secured to said umbrella crown, to the free ends of said ribs, to the inner ends of said center rib portion and to said hinge means and forming a generally mushroom-shaped fold between said umbrella crown and the location at which it is secured to the inner end of said center rib portions, said outer rib portion, in shortened condition of the umbrella, wherein said center rib portion and said inner rib portion are mutually telescoped and said outer rib portion is pivoted so as to lie adjacent said telescoped inner and center rib portions, is of such length that its free end extends at most up to said generally mushroom-shaped fold so that at most three layers of said flexible roofing material are superimposed on one another.

2. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said outer rib portion is substantially two-thirds the length of said inner rib portion.

3. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said hinge means comprises a sleeve member having an open peripheral surface portion and a pair of spaced cheeks extending therefrom along said open portion, a pivot pin extending between said cheeks, one of said inner and center rib portions being pivotally secured to said sleeve by said pivot pin.

4. Collapsible member according to claim 3, wherein said cheeks are formed with a hole adapted for securing said roofing material to said hinge means.

5. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 3, including means provided on said sleeve number for yieldingly locking said one pivotable rib portion in said sleeve member.

6. Collapsible umbrella according to claim 5, wherein said locking means comprises constrictions formed in said cheeks opposite one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 838,895 12/1906 Pelusi l3526 929,498 7/1909 Rose -25 3,135,276 6/1964 Weber 13526 PETER M. CAUN, Primary Examiner. 

